Gone
by CharmingWhitelighter
Summary: Paige runs and the Power of Three gets seperated. What happens next? I don't know...maybe we can find out
1. Tired, Running and Birthdays

Paige was tired. Not from lack of sleep, but of everything else. Tired of doing all the housework, all the vanquishing, and babysitting. She was tired of Phoebe and Piper relying on her to do everything. And today, after 2 ½ years of being tired, she was going to leave it all behind.

She packed her suitcase and took a look around her room. This was what she had called home for the last 2 ½ years. It was difficult for her, but she had to do this. She took a last look at the picture on her mantle. It was of her, Piper, and Phoebe. They were sitting on the couch, squishing to fit into the frame of the picture. A huge smile was plastered on each of their faces. That was when Paige had been truly happy. Now, she wasn't sure what she felt.

Sighing, she took the letter on top of her suitcase and placed it on top of the picture. It was addressed to Phoebe and Piper, and she hoped it would explain everything. She opened her other clenched fist. Inside of it was a small vial. It contained a temporary binding potion. She had 3 other bottles with her, but she wanted to take this one first. Popping the cap off, she gulped it down. She felt her inner strength, which had been there since she met the Halliwell's, disappear. She tried to orb, and when it proved unsuccessful, she smiled to herself.

Paige grabbed her suitcase and lugged it down the stairs. A taxi was waiting for her. She placed her key to the manor on the small table in front of the door, grabbed her coat and turned around. Her shoulders shook with sobs. She gathered her courage and opened the door. The taxi driver came towards her and took her bags from her. She slowly shut the door. As she heard the lock click, she opened her purse and took out an another picture. When they had this one taken, she had asked for a double. It was one of her favorites. She had a recent copy made so that she could leave them one too. It was the whole family. Leo was siting on the arm of the couch with his arms around Piper, who was holding Wyatt. Phoebe had her arm around Paige and her other arm was resting on Piper's shoulder. Paige slipped it under the door and got in the taxi. She gave the driver directions to the nearest airport and took her last look at the manor as she drove away.

Piper walked through the front door, closely trailed by her younger sister Phoebe. Phoebe was talking on her cell phone and Piper was carrying groceries. Neither of them noticed the eerie silence that greeted them, or the picture on the floor. They didn't hear the sound of keys hitting the floor when Wyatt crawled in the doorway, knocking into the small table. Without registering that she hadn't heard Paige at all, she grabbed Wyatt off the floor and carried him into the kitchen. Phoebe was ending her phone conversation.

"No you hang up." She said, acting like a teenager. "No you." "I'm not hanging up until you do." "I will not hang up."

Piper grabbed the phone from her and turned it off. "Well, I hung up. How's that?" She said, smirking.

"Piper." Phoebe pouted. Then, blue and white orbs filled the room. Piper ran and sat on the table, hiding the grocery bags from the sight of the person orbing in. When they realized it was only Leo, Piper hopped back down and gave him a huge hug.

"Good. It's only you." She said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Only me?" Leo said, using his puppy eyes on her.

"You know what I mean. If it was Paige, she would have realized that the stuff was for," Piper lowered her voice. "Her surprise party."

"Oh yea. How old is she today?" Leo asked.

"She's 27." Phoebe said from her corner in the kitchen. "Where is the birthday girl?"

"I think she's in her room." Piper responded. "She said she wasn't feeling well this morning."

"Alright. We'll let her rest. I can help you put the decorations up." Phoebe said, getting up and levitating to the ceiling over Piper's head. "Toss me a balloon."

Across town, Paige was standing at the desk. She received her ticket and started towards the terminal. She wasn't paying attention to where she was walking and bumped into someone. She hit the ground, dazed.

"Oh crap. Are you alright miss?" A deep voice asked as a hand stretched out to help her up. She grasped the hand and hoisted herself off the ground. She turned around and stared into the most gorgeous blue eyes she had ever seen. She dragged her attention from them and finally got a good look at the man. He was clean-cut. His slightly shaved face left little bristles that started at his sideburns and ended at his chin. He had a cute smile too.

"Sorry about that. My name's Rhys. Uh…Rhys Davidson." Rhys extended his hand, again, for a proper handshake.

"That's alright. My name's Paige. Paige Matthews." As she touched his hand again, she felt the warmth spread through her own body.

"Are you…are you alright?" He asked, making reference to the tearstains down her cheeks. She self-consciously wiped them away.

"Yea. I'm fine. I'm just having a bad day." She replied. By this time, they had reached her terminal. She looked at his ticket and saw that they were on the same flight.

"Well. Maybe you could tell me about it on the plane ride. Miss. Matthews?" Rhys asked, hopeful.

"Yea, I'm a Miss. And I'd be happy to tell you about it on the flight." She responded, smiling slightly.

A flight attendant took her ticket and checked it. "Flight to Boston. Take a left at the end of the hallway. Enjoy your flight." She said, directing Rhys and Paige towards their desired direction. Paige forgot all about the family she left behind as she boarded the plane and took a seat next to Rhys.

Piper put the last balloon up as Phoebe rearranged the cake for the 10th time.

"Pheebs, she's going to love it." Piper said restlessly.

"I know," Phoebe whined. "But I want everything to be perfect. She's done so much for us, for this family. I just want her to know that she's appreciated. You know?"

Piper grabbed her sister in a hug as Wyatt cried out. "Yea. I know. Why don't you wake Sleeping Beauty while I fix Wyatt up? Or you know what? Leo can do that." She said, handing the screaming child to her husband.

Piper ran into the living room and grabbed the gift from underneath the couch as Phoebe ascended up the stairs to Paige's room. Running back into the living room, Piper placed the gift next to the cake. Piper had the cake made just for Paige. It said "For Missy Paige on her 27th Birthday." Phoebe had made it up.

Just then, Phoebe walked into the room with a shell-shocked look on her usually happy face. Piper noticed it.

"What's wrong honey?" She asked as she covered the distance and arrived at Phoebe's side. She noticed that Phoebe was clutching a picture and a letter, but she made no connection yet. Phoebe looked up at her.

"Her room is completely empty. The only thing left were the folded sheets on her bed and these." She said shakily, pointing to the picture and letter in her trembling hand.

"What do you mean it's empty?" Piper asked.

"It's empty Piper. It looks like no one has lived there since Prue died. Everything's not…its not there." Phoebe yelled.

"I'll go see what's going on." Leo said, placing Wyatt in his high chair. He orbed out and returned a couple of minutes to find Piper and Phoebe in the same positions he had left them. He looked worried.

"What's going on?" Piper asked, rounding on Leo.

"The Elder's said that the Power of Three has been segregated." He explained.

"Segregated. What the heck doe that mean?" Piper yelled loudly, causing Wyatt to start to wail.

"It means that you don't exist anymore." Leo said, his voice still calm and controlled.

"Why the hell not?" Phoebe asked angrily.

"They said that Paige's powers have been bound and that when they were, the Power of Three just died." Leo replied.

"Did a demon attacked her, or hurt her?" Piper asked, fearing the worst.

"No. The Elders said… they said she ran away." Leo said, as if that part didn't make sense to him. Piper and Phoebe looked at each other and then at the items in Phoebe's hand.


	2. The Letter and The Letdown

Piper stared in shock at the letter in her hand. No doubt it was Paige's handwriting, but she couldn't believe the things she had written. It was a reality jolt for Phoebe and herself. Maybe they hadn't treated Paige fairly, but were they really this bad?

Leo came up behind her and gently pulled the letter out of her hands. Piper had been staring at the lined paper for at least 5 minutes, not saying anything. Phoebe had just run out of the room crying. Leo didn't have a chance to read it yet. He had put Wyatt down for a nap and had come downstairs. He was interested in seeing what Paige had written.

**Dear Piper and Phoebe,**

**These past 2 ½ years with you guys have been the best time of my life ever. I thought that living by myself at 25, with no responsibilities, or family was cool. When I first met you, I was super excited about being sisters. However, I didn't like the whole responsibility thing. But then, I learned that it was a part of life. **

**As I said before, in the beginning, everything was awesome. We had so much fun. I felt like I truly belonged somewhere in this world. I mean, Jesus, I had a family. I had 2 sisters, a brother-in-law, and nephew. I was in heaven.**

**But after awhile, it got, how should I put it? Tiring. Tiring is a good word. I had to do everything. I had to train myself. I had to do the housework. Don't get me wrong, a little housework never killed me. But when you have demon vanquishes almost every day, it gets pretty messy. And when you have no one to help, the mess gets bigger. **

**I understand that you have your own lives, your own problems. Piper, you've got the responsibility of being a single mom, and fighting for your husband. Phoebe, you're still getting over Cole, and your job is getting big. I get that, trust me. But, what happened to sister night. We used to watch a movie, and just talk. The most I ever get out of you guys lately is "Hi" and "Paige could you do this…"**

**I love you guys, but I feel closed in. Like I don't have a life anymore. I'm the scapegoat of the family. I do the shopping, the laundry, even the cooking. I make dinner for you guys all the time. Piper, you think Leo makes it, while Phoebe and Leo think Piper makes it.**

**One more complaint. I'm not Prue. My name is Paige Halliwell Matthews. I may look a little like Prue, but I'm not her. I can't ever be her. You won't let me be her, and I don't want to be her. I'm not a replacement either. I'm my own person. I have a birthday, a favorite color, a worst enemy, a favorite singer and a favorite TV show. Piper, when I asked you all these questions, I believe your answers were the following: Birthday – May 22nd. Color – Blue. Worst Enemy – Victor Bennett. Singer – Michelle Branch. TV Show – The Maury Show. You said that you knew me. You swore that you knew a little bit about me. I even said that you knew a little bit about me. But I was wrong, shame on me. You know absolutely nothing about me. First of all, my birthday is October 31st. My favorite color is orange. My worst enemy cannot be your dad, because I don't even really know him. My worst enemy is definitely Cole. You of all people should know that I am not a huge Michelle Branch fan. I protested when you booked her for the club. Fortunately for me, you dumped Wyatt on me as you ran out of the door, so I didn't have to hear her. My favorite group is the Wallflowers. And in the all the years that I have known you, which granted isn't long, have I ever, ever watched those dumb Jerry Springer type shows? Bewitched, Piper. Bewitched. **

**Phoebe, you aren't a shining angel either. I know that vanquishing Cole was tough, but get over him. He's evil, and you helped kill him. All right, you were in love with him, but then that love changed to hate, and you know it. You haven't helped much in my life either. **

**I miss you guys. I wish that everything was the way it used to be. Or maybe you wish it was Prue that was alive, right? Prue would never leave right? Especially on her birthday. So I'm a screw-up. I can deal with it. But the question is, can you? I guess not, since I'm gone, and you're reading this letter. I bound my powers too. I just don't want to have anything to do with magic. I'm leaving Paige Halliwell Matthews behind and starting a new life. A new name, a new address, a new start. Maybe one day we'll pass on the streets and you'll think to yourself, _"She really looks familiar. Kind of like that girl who used to be our sister, but couldn't amount to much. No way. That girl looks like she's got her whole life together. She couldn't possibly be Paige."_ Then you'll go on your way and I'll just wish that I could be with you. **

**Tell Wyatt that I love him, and tell Leo not to even try to look for me. You'll never find me. I'm going to miss you guys, but I know that you'll forget me, so I'll just forget you too.**

**Love,**

**Paige Halliwell Matthews**

Leo was shocked. He couldn't believe it. He had noticed that Piper and Phoebe had been recently ignoring Paige, but he didn't say anything. Now it was too late. Gazing towards the sunset, he realized the front door was open. He walked over to close and just missed stepping on a small rectangular piece of paper. He picked it up and saw that it was a picture. He remembered the picture. He had set the camera up and Paige had really liked it. He held it close to him and orbed up to Paige's room. Listening closely, he could hear Phoebe's quiet sobs through her door across the hall. He knelt down next to the right side of Paige's bed and slipped his hand between the mattresses. His hand struck a small folder, and he gently pulled it out. Inside were all the photos Paige kept. They were her favorites. He caught her looking through them and arranging them one day. She had admitted that she was going to give the finished book to Piper and Phoebe. Opening it he realized it was done. They were great photos; some Paige had taken, some even by Prue. A few were by Leo also. They were of the sister's Prue included. They were all smiling. It was Paige's pride and joy. He took it and led Phoebe into the living room where he handed the book to Piper and Phoebe. The looked through it, amazed and shocked. They loved it.

Paige closed her eyes as all the memories came back at her. She let out a sigh and started to tell Rhys her sad story.


End file.
